Retrievable marine marker



April 29, 1952 s. w. WOODARD 2,594,702

RETBIEVABLE MARINE MARKER Filed Aug, 39, 194 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig;

Stanley M! Woodard A OR/VEYS.

April 1952 s. w. wooDARo RETRIEVABLE MARINE MARKER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1948 ABCDE 3mm SYan/ey W Woodard 3 .0. H E 2 km z 4.

Fig.2

4 la er. m. A TTORNE Y5 P 29, 1952 w s. w. WOODARD 2,594,702

7 RETRIEVABLE MARINE MARKER Filed Aug. 30, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 3 MW Stanley M. Woodard 01146. wt R f A T TORNE Y8.

April 29, 1952 s. w. WOODARD 2,594,702

RETRIEVABLE MARINE MARKER- Filed Aug. 50, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1952 BETBIEVABLE MARINE MARKER Stanley W. Woodard, Houston, Tex., assignor to Dale Service Corp., Houston, Tex., a corporation of California Application August 30, 1948,. Serial No. 46,8417

1 Claim. 7 1.

.Theinvention relates to a marine marker capable offtr'ansmitting detectable signals so as to locate the marker after it has been submerged ona water coveredarea in combination with a releasable float or signal by which visual detection of the marker may be effected.

This invention particularly relates to markers which may be deposited upon submerged areas so as. to transmit signals in order that the marker may be. utilized as a location from which other operations may be conductedand so that the signals from the marker may be utilized in carrymg on other affiliated operations.

The. invention relates generally to the subject matter of my prior co-pending application, Serial Number,36,552, for a Marine Marker, filed July 1,. 1.948, now abandoned.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a submergible housing which carries suitablesignal conducting mechanism whose operation'ma'y be initiated by anexplosion or a series thereof.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a submergible housing carrying suitable signal transmitting mechanism in combination with or independently of a releasable signal float both of whichmay be operable. by an explosion or the creation of a suitable energizing force in an area approximating such housing.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of electrical circuits sensi tive to either .a suitable potential or to one or more seismic explosions so as to initiate and transmit detectable signals whereby the position of the marker may be. located.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of electrical circuits sensitive to a. seismic explosion or a code series of explosions so as to initiate and transmit detectable signals whereby the marker may be located, in

combination with a releasable captive float signal so that the marker may be positively located by observingsuch float.

Another object i's'to provide a submergible signal and/or' a detecting m chanism therefore which may be intentionally submerged to transmit signals for its subsequent detection and location by a telltale buoy and which may be also disposed upon a ship or barge to permit location thereof in event of sinking.

Another object is to provide a system and mechanism for release of a signal buoy of a suitable type to permit detection of the location of the mechanism in a water covered area.

It is also an object to provide a code involving 2' various combinations of intentionally tra' mitted signals' to initiate the operation of a submerged marker and signal mechanism so as to prevent unauthorized or interfering operation thereof.

It is also an object to initiate the operation of a submerged marker signal by the proximate positioning of electrodes or other means of producing a potential or other source of energy transmittal thru the water when such marker is submerged. r

A still further object of the invention is to provide a combination of interrelated electrical circuits whereby a seismic wave eilects an actuae tion of signal from a submerged marker either alone or in combination with the release of a visual float signalwhereby the marker may be located in conducting over-water surveys and afiiliated operations.

Other and further objects of the invention'will be readilyapparent when the following description is considered in connection with the accom; panying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through the marker housing and illustrating a wiring'dia gram of the signaling mechanism and the float release.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken in the line 2--2 of-Fig. 1, showing the releasing mechanism for the float signal, or buoy.

Fig. 3 is an edge elevation of the switch, or collector plate, which controls the electric signal and operating circuits.

Fig. 4 isa side elevation looking toward the left of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic drawing of the electrical control circuit.

The marker is embodied in the form shown. in Fig. 1 wherein the housing I has a base 2 which is arranged to rest upon the water bottom. The housing I is arranged with a recessed well 3 afiixed to the housing by the bolts 4 and sealing gasket 5 so as to provide a water-tight joint to exclude moisture from the interior of the hous: ing where the operating mechanism has been locked.

As heretofore indicated the marker relates to a signaling type of device as generally set forth in my prior application but specifically includes thli improvement of a tell-tale buoy float or visual signal which can be released from the marker while the marker is submerged so that such captive buoy will rise to the surface where it can be observed.

Fig. 1 shows the buoy B in the form of a hollow vessel of any suitable material which will have sufficient buoyancy to promptly rise to the surface oi the water and carry the cable I therewith. Such a buoy could be collapsible and subject to automatic inflation upon release. If desired the buoy 6 might be forcibly discharged because the housing might be embedded in mud or muck. The buoy might carry a radio transmitter which would broadcast a signal to aid in its location.

The buoy 6 is retained within the well 3 by the latching mechanism I0. This latch may take various forms but is illustrated as embodying the latch rods or prongs I I having a notch I2 therein to receive the retainer lever M which is fixed on a rock shaft I5 to one side of the latch box I 6 so that rocking movement of suchlever will rock the finger I4 to release the latch prongs. The buoy and prongs are urged upwardly by a coil spring I! loosely disposed beneath the buoy in the well.3. The well may carry a grease to prevent leakage of water into the housing I after the buoy has been released.

One end of the cable I is anchored at 23 to the buoy while the other end is anchored at El to the marker housing at the base of the well 3. A suitable length of cable may be used to permit the buoy to reach the surface of the water in which the marker housing has been submerged.

The releasing lever I4 of the latching is fixed on the rock shaft I5. The releasing mechanism ID will be operated by the transverse movement of the. rod 25, Fig. 2, which is adapted to be moved laterally when the worm wheel 26 is turned by the worm 21 and the motor 28. Such rotation causes a pin 29 on the Worm wheel 26 to engage the extension 30 on the rod 25 so as to move the rod to the left as seen in Fig. 1. Such movement rocks the latch levers I4 and fingers I4 and releases the prongs II so that the springs I! may forceably discharge the buoy 6. A coil spring 3! carried by the base of the well normally urges the rod to the right so as to retain the levers I4 latched to the rods I I.

The section view of Fig. 2 shows the latch box I6 carries a bearing closed to the outside of the box to support one end of the rock shaft I5 and a packing I5 to seal the other end. This arrangement prevents leakage into the housing upon release of the buoy.

An electrical circuit 32 for the electric motor 28 is connected into the left hand contact of a release control relay 33 carried by the base of the housing I. It seems obvious that when this relay 33 is actuated to energize the motor 28 for a predetermined amount of rotation of the gear 26 that operation of the motor will release the buoy. As the gear 26 rotates it will move the arm 30 to the left in Fig. l at which time the buoy is released. A second pin 29 on the gear 26 strikes a switch arm 98 of the switch 91 to open the coil circuit of the relay 33 which stops the motor 28. In order that the switch 91 may be reset when the buoy is to be replaced a normally open push button switch 91 may be positioned under a bolt 4 so that the motor 28 may be again operated to reset the latch mechanism and the circuit 32 will again be available to release the buoy.

A retainer for the rod 25 is provided to hold the latch mechanism If! so as to insure that there will be no inadvertent release unless the motor 28 is operated.

The relay 33 is a double pole single throw relay in which one of the contacts is connected to the motor circuit 32.

The gear 26, worm 21, and pins 29 could be replaced with a cam arrangement.

Broadly, it is contemplated that any suitable signal received by the device will serve to actuate this buoy release control relay to close this circuit 32 and release the buoy.

The leads 49 go from the battery 4| which is a source of power, to a series of terminals for all the various circuits.

For purposes of one form of illustration herein it will be explained that a geophone 35 will be disposed in the housing and is capable of receiving a seismic-wave which may result from an explosion in the general vicinity of the marker. The construction and operation of geophones are well known in the art and need not be explained here except to point out that the alternating currentfrom such geophone through a circuit 36 leads into a rectifier 31 where it is converted into a direct current and carried on to the coil of a sensitive magnetic contact relay 38. Of course other devices to set up such a potential may be used in lieu of the geophone.

In order to energize a plurality of different circuits in the desired sequence and to transmit the desired signals from the marker for purposes of location of the marker and to transmit information which may be correlatable with other data, a switch plate 50 has been shown diagrammatically as being attached to and supported by the housing I from a base 5|. The various circuits controlled or timed by this switch plate 50 are seen in Fig. 1 and the actual construction and arrangement of such plate is shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The plate is mounted on a-shaft 52 which carries a worm wheel 53 .driven by a Worm shaft 54. This shaft is supported by the bearings 51 of Fig. 3 and carries a gear 58which meshes with a gear 59 on the motor shaft 66. This motor shaft is mounted in the bearings BI and is driven by the motor 65.

With this arrangementthe motor will drive the switch plate 50 at a desired speed so that the collector rings 66, a plurality of which are shown in Fig. 4, on the collector plate 50, will move into an out-of-contact with the series of brushes 6'! which ride on such rings as seen in Fig. 3.

The collector rings A, B, C, D, and E have been shown in Fig. 4 while the complementary brushes therefor, A, B, C, D and E, are shown in Fig. 3.

By comparing Figures 1, 3, and 4 it will be observed that the various circuits are arranged to be opened and closed as follows for purposes of operation of the mechanism.

The brushes AA of Fig. 3 are arranged to contact the collector rings AA of Fig. 4 and this circuit AA has its terminals A connected to the contact of the power relay I0.

The collector rings A of the plate 50 have two electrical connections I3 leading to the two segments of the collector rings B and electrical connections I4 leading to the collector rings E as also seen in Fig. 4.

The collector rings C0 are connected electrically together by the lead 11. The rings DD in the form of two short segments are connected In order to explain these circuits it may be assumed that at the time the switch plate is energized the brushes A to E inclusive will be disposed along the diameter 83 as seen in Fig. 4.

When the geophone 35 described above is energized, the contactxof' starting -i-elay 38 is closed. i-The consequent closing of the contact of the relay 38 energizes thecoil of' the power relay 'lfl 'This in turn closesthe contact of the powerrelay Ill to close'tlie circuit through the rings AA. When the brushes are along the diameter 83, the rings BBare in series with the ringsAAandthe circuit to the coil of the signal relay BI' is thus energized which causes the contacts of this relay' toclose. This relay is a double pole single throw relay and one of the contactscloses the circuit 82' to-the signal motor 65 whichoperates the motor shaft 60 as seen in Fig. 4.'-

" Arranged to be actuated by the motorshaft Glare a plurality of" striker arms 96 pivoted on the'shaf-t '91. Each of these strikers is in the rerm oran arm'92 having a striker portion 93 to engage the 'sounding'body 94 which is a partgof thehou'sing. These strikers will be elevated by difierent shaped cams 95, one of which is arr'a'nge'cl -on-the shaft 59 for each of the striker arms '93: This mechanism is more fully disclosed in my "above mentioned co-pending application and may be arranged to a difierent sequenceor tone so that 'by arrangement of the strikers and' cams predetermined desired signals may be transmitted. motor 65 continues to turn the switch plate'58 so as to open and close the several circuits.

The direction of rotation of the switch plate 50 as seen in Fig. 4 would be in a clockwise'direction.

Another contact 95 of the signal control relay BI is in series with the coil of this relay 8liand the battery leads 40 through the rings 0'. Thus.

as the 'plate rotates the coil'of the relay ,8] is first energized through the energizing of the re lay 38'. As the plate continues to rotate the'circuit'energizing this coil of the relay 8| is also closed through one set of contacts of the relay 8| throughv the circuit CC.

" As the plate continues to rotate the circuit through BB is opened as the segments BB saver beyond the brushesBB. However the coil of relay 3| continues to be energized by the circuit C, thus keeping the'relay 8| closed. As'theplate continues its rotation the segments of the-rings DD come into contact with the brushes DD to close the circuit which resets the magnetic contact of the sensitive relay 38.

This contact opens both the relays 38 and 19. As the segments of the collector rings DD move beyond the brushes DD, the reset circuit is opened and the relays 33 and I0 are free'to be activated byanother impulse from the geophone 35.

Further continued rotation of the plate 50 moves the contact of the relay 10 into series with the'coil 33' of the relay 33 through the circuits AA and EE. 3

This arrangement continues until the plate has nearly completed one turn or revolution and the collector ring segments EE have passed the brushes EE to open the E circuit. As the plate continues the B segments again come under the B brushes while the C brushes are still in contact with the C rings. The plate stops rotating when the C segments go past the C brushes and the circuit 82 of the signal motor 65 is opened.

If during the rotation of the switch plate, the geophone 35 has not been. energized while the E circuit is in series with the contact of the relay 70, the motor 28 does not operate and there will be no release of the buoy. If,.however; geo- This operation of thephone 3.5. has. been. energized during this time; the. relay 3.3: is operated by means of the relays the circuit 82 to operate the motor 65'. This motor operates the strikers. to give a sound signal and to also turn the switch plate 50.

Second, the coil'circuitof the relay 8! is closed through one of the contacts of the relay 8! while next the contact of the relay I0 is disconnected from the coil circuit'o'f. 8|; the reset circuitio'ftherelay 38 is closed to open the contact of this relay which inturn causes the relay 18 to open. Next; the reset circuit of relay 38 is opened and this relay isv now ready'to be energized by the geophone 35. The contact of the sensitive relay 33 is always in'series with the coil of the power relay 1!].

Next, the contact of power relay 1B is put in series. with the coil of release relay 33. This ar rangement remains throughout'rnost of therot-ation of the switchplate. When the switch plate has nearly completedone revolution the contact of power relay lil is disconnected from the coil circuit of relay 33. Next, the contact of relay- 16 is connected in series with the coil circuit of relay 8|. Finally, the circuit 82 is opened when the rings CC go past the brushes CC and'the motor 55 stops with the brushes AA through ETET positioned on the plate diameter 86. The process is repeated when another explosion energizes the geophone35. If a second explosion occurs after the reset circuit'for the re layss has been closed and opened and'while the circuit through the ring segments EE is closed.

. the sequence of events changes as follows:

When the second explosion occurs to energize the relay 38" which in turn energizes the relay 1D, the closing of relay Hi energizes through'the circuit-E; the coil of relay 33 which is a double pole single throw relay. One contact of the relay 33 closes to operate the motor 28 which turns the gear 25 and causes the pin 29 to bear against the surface 33. This pushes the arm 98 which in turn moves the lever arms H to release the;

fingers it from the prongs ll so that the buoy i5 may rise to the surface of the water to be discharged from the housing to be held captive by. the cable 4. If it is desired the entire marker may be retrieved by raising on the cable 7; any suitable mechanism for retrieving the marker housing could be usedin cooperation with-the cable 7.. For examplefan overshot may be run along the cable to clampove'r the shoulder 'oftl'ie pin 1.

The other contact of the relay 33 is connected. in series with the coil circuit of the relay 33.

With this arrangement once the relay3'3 has been energized by the circuit E it will remain energized even if the circuit E has been disconnected from the coil circuit. The energized circuit will remain closed until the switch- 91' has beenv opened. If desired the switch fil-may' be' positioned so that one of the pins 29 will open the switch when the displacement of the pin 30 has been moved a maximum distance to the. left in Fig. '1. Thus the motor 28 will now stop to retain the latches in the unlatched position. When the buoy is unlocked the springs I! impart an upward thrust to the buoy so as to insure its release from the marker.

The plate 50 continues to rotate after the buoy release mechanism has been energized for the purpose of producing the following sequence:

Since the sensitive relay 38 has not been reset from the second explosion the first steps here described will be repeated.

After the buoy has been released the switches may be caused to continue to operate by again energizing the geophones 35.

' There is a time interval provided for in the operation in this manner which can be determined during the time the signal is accruing in which the buoy can be released by another explosion or if it is not desired that the buoy be released of course the marker will be transmitting the detectable signals from the strikers 90.

In operation the marker will be activated by the first explosion and then if a second explosion occurs during a predetermined time interval while the first signal is being transmitted release of the buoy will occur.

If desired, by using only the relay 8! and connecting it to operate the release mechanism, eliminating the strikers 90 and the switch plate 50 a release for the buoy may be accomplished. Such an operation could be useful as a retrieving device by attaching the same to any article which may have to be retrieved from a submerged area at a later time.

On the'other hand, if the buoy release remains inactive a marine marker is provided which can belocated due to the transmission of a signal which is initiated by an explosion.

Fig. 1 shows a delay device I90 connected into the sensitive relay 38 which may be used to cause a delay of any desired time in the initiation of the operation of the marker. A dash pot construction or other form may be utilized.

It seems obvious that various combinations of the two devices might be useful wherein the buoy could be released upon the occurrence of the first explosion while the striker signals were operated continuously from the time the buoy is released until such time as the marker is retrieved. Also the buoy could be used in conjunction with my co-pending application mentioned herein by which a marker producing a signal at predetermined time intervals would have a captive buoy which could be caused to rise to the surface when desired for purposes of locating or recovering the marker. The geophone 35 might be replaced by other devices, such as, for example, a two-conductor cable extending outside the housing and where each conductor terminates at an electrode outside the marker. The electrodes are spaced a suitable distance apart and they may be caused to have suflioient difference in electrical potential to operate the relay 38 by the passage of adequate electrical current between two other electrodes in the water which are in the vicinity of these electrodes. The two current electrodes might be dragged through the water by a boat in the vicinity of the markers to effect release of the buoy. Also the geophone 35 might be replaced by a device which is sensitive to underwater sound of a predetermined frequency such as, for example, a Fessenden oscillator. In this case the buoy could be released when an underwater sound generator is operated 8 at the desired frequency in the vicinity of the marker.

It might be desired to have a delay between the time an explosion occurs and the time the signal from the marker starts. In this case the contact of relay 8| which is used to close the circuit 82 would be used instead to operate a time delay relay, which in turn would close the circuit 82 at a later time. Such relays are well known and need no description here.

The marker described herein requires one explosion to start the signal and a second explosion in a predetermined time interval thereafter in order to release the buoy. However it should be pointed out that by adding the appropriate rings to the switch plate relays and the corresponding electrical circuits, any desired number of explosions may be required to start the signal or to release the buoy. In other words, if desired, the signals required for operating the marker could be coded for both the number of explosions and the time sequence of the explosions. In this case,

if the signal were to be given onsome explosion other than the first one, the motor 65 would be used to operate the switch plate only. The first explosion would set the switch plate into operation in the same manner as illustrated above. The second explosion would operate relay 33, which, instead of operating the motor 28 would close a contact in an interlocking electrical circuit. By following the same procedure for additional relays the explosions required to start the signal or to release the buoy can be set at any desired number. Also, the time sequence required for the explosions can be adjusted in the desired way by changing the corresponding rings on the switch plate.

What is claimed is:

A self-contained submersible marine marker comprising a housing, a float detachably connected with the housing, a cable connected to said housing and to the float, a float latching means to hold said float releasably to the housing, motor driven means in said housing to produce a succession of sound signals arranged in a pattern to identify the marker, a geophone in said housing responsive to a short seismic impulse received by the housing, means operated by the geophone upon responding for closing a circuit to the motor of the motor driven means, switch means operated by the motor for maintaining it in operation for a predetermined time independent of the geophone circuit closing means, electromechanical means for releasing said latch means,other switch means operated by the motor during its maintained operation for preparing a circuit to the releasing means and means whereby said geophone when operated by a seismic impulse during the maintaining period completes said releasing means circuit.

STANLEY W. WOODARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 736,432 Owens Aug. 18, 1903 1,292,755 Geraghty Jan. 28, 1919 1,310,568 I-Ieap et a1 July 22, 1919 1,610,779 Hewett Dec. 14, 1926 2,170,000 Eggleston Aug. 22, 1939 2,401,955 Olson June 11, 1946 2,431,018 Bailey et al. Nov. 18, 1947 2,447,069 Holcomb Aug. 17, 1948 

